Casket locking means



Feb. 18, 1947. Q G. c. HlLLENBRA ND 2,415,943

CASKET LOCKING MEANS Filed March 31, 1944 IN V EN TORQ' Patented Feb. 18, 1947 UNlTED. STATES PATENT OFFICE CASKET LOCKING lviEAN S George C. Hillenbrand, Batesville, Ind., assignor to The Batesville Casket Company, Batesville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application March 31, 1944, Serial No. 528,875

3 Claims.

This invention relates to caskets and is particularly concerned with means for locking the lid to the body portion in hermetically sealed condition.

In United States Patent No. 2,323,674, issued July 6, 1943, on the invention of Robert B. Purkiss for Apparatus for locking and sealing burial caskets there is disclosed a particular locking arrangement involving a longitudinally movable lock bar disposed beneath a flange extending inwardly from the upper front edge of the casket body. Thi lock bar has wedge-shaped portions adapted toengage headed studs projecting downwardly from the casket lid through apertures in a flange on the casket body and to pull these studs down into locked position, the primary sealing of the two members being accomplished by a compressible rubber gasket which extends continuously between the upper and lower members. The present invention is in the nature of a detailed improvement in the structure disclosed in the aforesaid Purkiss patent.

Caskets having a, locking arrangement of the general type just described may be sealed very quickly and effectively. However, the locking elements, particularly the downwardly projecting headed studs and the apertures'in the body flange, are quite unsightly. When the casket has its lid elevated as is invariably the case during the period when the body is on display as at a funeral, the studs are conspicuous, particularly since they extend immediately into the line of vision of persons viewing the body. The apertures in the body flange through which the studs pass to accomplish the locking engagement are equally unsightly and lend an unflnished'appearance to the entire structure. Since caskets of this type customarily sell for substantial sums of money their appearance is equally as important as is their emciency in operation.

One of the objects of the present invention has been to improve the appearance of a casket of the type in which headed studs project from the lid by providing means by which these studs retract automatically in the normal operation of raising the casket lid.

Another object has been to provide means for retracting those studs which particularly extend across the line of vision of persons viewing abody positioned in the casket.

Another object has been to provide means for automatically closing the apertures in the flange on the body of the casket during the periods when the lid is elevated.

Another object has been to provide cooperative portions of the inner surface of the casket lid and body in open position.

Figure .3 is a View similar to Figure 2 showing thelid and body in closed position.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 3' illustrating more clearly the details of the structure proposed.

Figure 5 is a sectional View Figure l.

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of one of the spring actuated aperture closing elements.

along the line- 5-5,

Figure- 7 is an end elevation of one of these elements.

The casket shown in perspective in Figure 1 has been designated generally as iii and includes two principal elements, the body portion H and the lid It. On the body portion a peripheral flange l3 extends inwardly from the upper edge.

A compressible rubber gasket 5 1 is shown seated on this flange. A similar flange it extends inwardly from the edge of the lid. Disposed beneath the body flange I3 is the longitudinally ex tending lock bar [G which is supported by the brackets ll. The lock-bar is may be operated by the usual screw means IS.

The means provided for retracting the studs are best illustrated in Figures 2-4. Preferably, two studs are retracted simultaneously and as a unit. The two studs 88 which normally extend downwardly through apertures 59 in the lid flange are secured at their upper ends to the ends of the links 28. These links may be pivoted on bolts 2| inserted through the links and through bracket 22 projecting upwardly from the upper surface of the lid flange. The ends of the links farthest from the studs extend inwardly of the bracket and, as illustrated in Figure 3, terminate in closely adjacent position, their ends resting on the head 23 of a smooth-sided stud 24 which projects downwardly through the lid flange. Springs 25 are positioned on the studs l8 between the upper surface of the lid flange and the link and are operable to retract these studs from view when the lid is in elevated position. When the lid is closed,

as illustrated in Figure 3, the stud 24 contacts a button 26 positioned on the body flange and is pushed upwardly. The operation of the stud head 23 against the ends of the links depresses the studs l8 so that they extend downwardly through apertures 2'! in the lower flange and become engaged by the wedge-shaped locking elements 28 integrally secured to the lock bar. When the lid i in closed position, as illustrated in Figure 3, the stud 24 is retracted, whereas in open position, as illustrated in Figure 2, this stud is extended and the headed studs 18 are retracted and removed from the line of vision. Since the stud 24 need not have a headed lower end it is much less unsightly than the studs l8, while the total number of the studs visible in open position is reduced by half.

In the detailed view of the stud 24 illustrated in Figure 5, the exact construction will be readily apparent. The stud is confined by a U-shaped collar 30 secured to the bracket 22 but i otherwise free to move vertically. The upward movement is limited by the distance to which the head of the button 26 may be projected through the stud aperture and the downward movement is limited by the engagement of the head 24 with the upper surface of the collar 38. Both movements are controlled to some extent also by the extent to which the link is pivotal.

The aperture closing element 29 is preferably secured to the underside of the body flange and comprises-the two sections 3| and 32 hingedly connected by the spring 33. The section 31 has an upwardly extending button-shaped portion 3d. As the stud 18 projects downwardly through the opening 21 in the body flange it engages the button-shaped portion 34 and presses the section 3| downwardly on the hinged connection as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The element does not in any. way interfere with the engagement of the studs l8 in the wedge-shaped locking elements 28, but after the lid is raised the portion 3| springs back to horizontal position and the button portion 3 3 projects into the opening 21 and fllls it, thereby providing a much neater appearance than would be the case if the aperture were left unfilled.

The two principal elements of the invention may be said to function cooperatively in improving the general appearance of a casket of the particular type to which the invention is directed when this casket is in open position. Instead of the unsightly headed studs and open holes, a neat and finished appearance is provided which definitely improve the casket exterior. While the invention is a simple one, the result accomplished is one which is of definite importance in eliminating objectionable visual feature from a structure which ha proved very effective mechanically.

3 Having described my invention, I claim: 1. In a casket, a body portion, a lid for said body, said body portion and said lid including mating inwardly extending flanges, the forward flange on the body including a series of openings therein, closure flaps for said openings adapted to be displaced downwardly, stud locking means disposed beneath said openings, levers pivotally mounted in the lid above the forward flange thereof, locking studs carried by said levers and disposed in guide openings in the lid flange, means for normally maintaining said locking studs in retracted position, a stud slidably mounted in the lid flange adjacent the ends of the levers for actuating the same, said actuating stud projecting below the flange of the lid for engagement with the flange of the body as the lid is lowered, the distance between the actuating stud and the pivotal axes of the respective levers being considerably less than that between the pivotal axes and the respective locking studs 50 a to require a very short movement of the actuating stud.

2. In a casket, a body portion, a lid for said body, said body portion and said lid including mating flanges, the forward flange on the body including a series of openings therein, closure flaps for said openings adapted to be displaced downwardly, stud locking mean disposed beneath said openings, pairs of levers pivotally mounted in the lid above the forward flange thereof, one pair toward each end thereof, stud carried by said lever and disposed in guide openings in the lid flange, means for normally maintaining said studs in retracted position, studs slidably mounted in the lid flange adjacent the ends of the levers of the respective pairs for actuating the same, said actuating studs projecting beyond the flange for engagement with the flange of the body as the lid is lowered, the end-s of the studs being rounded whereby there are no unsightly projections disposed in the line of vision into the casket when the lid is open.

3. In a casket, a body portion, a lid for said body, aid body portion and said lid including mating inwardly extending flanges, the forward flange on the body including a series of openings therein, stud locking means disposed beneath said openings, levers pivotally mounted in the lid above the forward flange thereof, studs carried by said levers and disposed in guide openings in the lid flange, means for normally maintaining said studs in retracted position, a stud slidably mounted in the lid flange adjacent the end-s of the levers for actuating the same, said actuating stud projecting below the flange for engagement with the flange of the body as the lid is lowered, whereby when said lid is closed said first mentioned studs are extended through said opening in position to be engaged by said stud locking means.

GEORGE C. HILLENBRAN'D.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 248,068 Toepfer Oct. 11, 1881 705,660 Fergusson July 29, 1902 1,396,163 Cleal et a1. Nov. 8, 1921 399,238 Mix Dec. 16, 1884 2,284,921 Purkiss (1) June 2, 1942 2,323,674 Purkiss (2) July 6, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 25,555 Austrian Sept. 10, 1906 

